At the age of 89, Henry Nobel MacCracken, Vassar’s 5th president, who served 1914-1946, died in Poughkeepsie after a long illness. Placing him at the time of his death "among the foremost liberal educators of his time," The New York Times quoted MacCracken's long-held view that "women's colleges have been more fortunate than those for men because they started from scratch."

A memorial service for Dr. MacCracken was held in the Chapel on May 16.